A B.C. man who used a crossbow in a killing in Langley two years ago has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Jason Robert William Griffiths was originally charged with second-degree murder in the March 28, 2022, killing of 29-year-old Nicholas Ball. At trial, Justice Michael Tammen found him guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.
The court heard that Ball was shot in the heart with a crossbow bolt following an argument with Griffiths, who was homeless and camping in a vacant lot.
At trial, the court heard Ball had sent Griffiths hostile and threatening texts before Griffiths shot him during a confrontation.
Justice Tammen rejected Griffiths’ argument the killing was in self-defence, ruling his actions weren’t reasonable.
He noted that after the killing, Griffiths removed the crossbow bolt from Balls’ body, which he also disposed of, then used drugs with another man before calling 911 the following morning.
However, Tammen found there was also a reasonable doubt that Griffiths’ had intended to kill Ball.
“They knew each other, they were not strangers, it was unfortunate that they got into the argument that they did,” Griffiths’ lawyer Bobby Movassaghi said.
“The argument turned into threats, there had been threats from Mr. Ball to Mr. Griffiths in the preceding days, it escalated that night and unfortunately it ended the way it did.”
Friends of the victim said they wanted the public to know how special he was.
“Nick is loved by so many people and he has impacted so many lives in a way that cannot be explained but only experienced and if you got to know Nick then you get it,” friend Michelle Raymond said in a statement.
“Nick was not a perfect person but nobody is and that’s what made him human.”
She went on to say she understood the need for rehabilitate, but that she felt it had “already been demonstrated with the offender that there is very little desire to commit to such.”
In his reasons for sentencing, Tammen noted that Griffiths has had a substance use disorder for nearly two decades that began when he was prescribed oxycontin after a motorcycle accident.
Griffiths had no other criminal record and has committed no other offences while on bail.
Aggravating factors in the case were the use of a deadly weapon and the fact that Griffiths took no steps to obtain medical assistance for Ball after shooting him.
Mitigating factors included that Ball had previously threatened Griffiths and was behaving in an aggressive manner and that Griffiths had expressed what Tammen found was genuine remorse.
Crown prosecutors had sought a nine-year prison sentence, while Griffiths’ lawyer argued for a two-and-a-half to three-year sentence.
Tammen settled on five years, which, after credit for time served, leaves Griffiths with two years and two months more time to serve.
He was also served with a 10-year firearms prohibition and must give a DNA sample.